Top 10 Things To Do to Celebrate Canada 150

It's Canada's 150th birthday and what better way to celebrate than by checking off these 10 bucket list activities in Newfoundland and Labrador?

1. See the first sunrise in North America

Cape Spear National Historic Site is the most easterly point in North America and the perfect place to be the first to see the sunrise on Canada's 150th birthday.

2. Walk on the earth’s mantle

The Tablelands in Gros Morne National Park is a barren area which towers over the park, looking more like a scorched desert than a traditional Newfoundland & Labrador landscape. These billion-year-old rocks are some of the oldest on the planet.

3. Go snorkeling with humpback whales

Make a new friend, who just happens to weigh 80,000 lbs. Experience the size and scale of one of the largest living beings, a humpback whale, up close and personal as you snorkel alongside them in the North Atlantic Ocean.

4. See the earliest evidence of life on the planet

Newfoundland & Labrador's newest UNESCO site is Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve. This site is the best place in the world to view 565-million-year-old fossils: the oldest, largest complex multi-cellular life-forms found anywhere on earth.

5. Go kayaking with 10,000-year-old Icebergs

Paddle around 10,000-year-old glacial giants from many points along the northern and eastern coasts. These bergs come in every shape and size. With colours ranging from snow-white to the deepest aquamarine.

6. Sleep in a lighthouse on Iceberg Alley

Stay in a historic 1922 lighthouse inn still operating on a deserted island at the northern tip of Newfoundland. Orcas and humpbacks are frequent visitors, often coming so close to shore you can almost touch them.

7. Hike to what the Flat Earth Society calls on one the four corners of the earth

Brimstone Head on Fogo Island is worth the hike. Venture up the stairs to the rocky outcrop for a phenomenal view. This is a perfect photo, picnic or sunset location.

8. Travel back 1,000 years and visit the Vikings

Discovery is a fearless pursuit. Certainly, this was the case when the Vikings, the first Europeans to reach the new world, landed at L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. Put yourself back in time and discover what life was like for the Viking encampment in 1000 AD.

9. Visit the land of spirits, mountains, glacier, and polar bears

The Inuktitut word "Tongait", meaning place of spirits. Torngat Mountains National Park is 9,700 square kilometers of spectacular wilderness stretching north from Saglek Fjord to the northern tip of Labrador, and westward from the Atlantic seacoast to the Quebec border.

10. Surround yourself with the colour of Jellybean Row

Pass the colourful jellybean row houses wedged together in every space lining the sides of steep hills and hidden alleyways. Once you've meandered down to the working harbour of the waterfront, look towards the Narrows and imagine a time when the waters were brimming full with fishing schooners in St. John's.

Friendly Reminder: Make sure you book your car rental and accommodations in advance.